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Join our free early literacy program and steer your baby or preschooler toward academic success! Studies show that children who are read to from an early age develop better vocabulary, make more connections in their brains, and form the needed skills to read by themselves much quicker than their average peers who are not read to. Sign up by stopping in at the library for your first reading log, welcome letter, and other paperwork. Take a look at our awesome readers here.
For Families
Celebrate all things Seuss at a drop-in program on March 2!
Between 10 am and 4:30 pm, stop by the library event room to
enjoy games, crafts, snacks, reading, and prizes inspired by the
works of Dr. Seuss. When available, Miss Val will read your
favorite Dr. Seuss story, as well!
FIGHTERS for Teens & Tweens
Middle & High School Students, come on Wednesdays at 4:15 p.m. for a free program just for you! Join our ongoing reading challenge, which will run through the end of next May. Reading prizes and books will be awarded for every 500 pages of reading.
FIGHTERS stands for Familiar Inviting Group Helping Those Entities Recover from School. The name was chosen and voted on by our members.
February & March meetings will run as follows:
February 12, 4:15 pm: Valentine’s Crafts
February 19, 4 – 6 pm: Games & Snacks Night
March 4, 4:15 – 5 pm: Community Service at the library
March 11, 4 – 6 pm: Games & Crafts Night
March 25, 4:15 pm: The Lone Wolves Book Club at the Keyhole
NO Meetings on February 26 & March 18 due to training and vacation.
Need a ride from public school to FIGHTERS? Parents or guardians, call Joe Allen at 223-0800 to arrange bus transportation for your student.
An heiress, a Resistance fighter and a widow find their lives intertwined by their wartime experiences and the turbulent 1960s when they seek refuge at Paris’ legendary Ritz hotel. 50,000 first printing.
Discovering evidence of a gruesome murder in a roadside hedge, private detective Agatha Raisin is embroiled in a case involving industrial espionage, a bad-tempered donkey and her own growing fame. By the best-selling author of the Hamish Macbeth series.
Investigating the suspicious death of a social worker, Chief New York City Medical Examiner Laurie Montgomery makes the controversial decision to use genealogic DNA databases to identify a mysterious killer. By the best-selling author of Coma. Simultaneous.
Linda Kay Wheeler, age 78, resident of Ft. Scott, KS, died Monday, February 10, 2020, at her home.
She was born July 29, 1941, in Ft. Scott, the daughter of Chester and Mildred Rogers Seaver. She graduated from Ft. Scott high school with the class of 1959. Kay married Fletcher Wheeler on July 9, 1960, in Miami, OK.
She enjoyed being outside with the wildlife and her dogs. Kay was a fan of Elvis and liked watching the news and the Kansas City Chiefs on television. She looked forward to a great reunion at the Rainbow Bridge with all her past beloved pets.
Survivors include her husband Fletcher of the home; two daughters, Shelly Shirley and husband Tom, Springfield, MO, and Lisa Wheeler, Clearwater, FL; a brother, Jerry Seaver and wife Suzzane, TX; two grandchildren Kaitlyn Shirley, and Daniel Shirley and wife Ashley; and several nieces and nephews.
She was preceded in death by two brothers, William and Ronald Seaver; and a sister Betty Chambers.
There was cremation.
Kay’s wishes were no services.
The family suggests memorials to Wayside Waifs Kansas City and may be left in care of the Cheney Witt Chapel, PO Box 347, 201 S. Main, Ft. Scott, KS 66701. Words of remembrance may be submitted to the online guestbook at cheneywitt.com.
Fort Scott Community College’s (FSCC) track team has hit the ground running with 8 national qualifying athletes. This program has been buried deep in the archives since the 1940’s, but has been reconstructed and coming in hot! Head Coach, Philip Redrick spent his first year recruiting across the nation to find the best of the best.
“My team is young but we are learning how to run in college and how to compete at the highest level we are not done we should have about 5 more kids make it to nationals”, says Redrick.
The eight that are locked in for nationals is as follows:
Jordan Joyner 60 meters- Qualified at the Missouri Southern meet
Tre Buchanan 400 and 4by400-Qualified at the Pittsburg State meet
Jarvis Miles 400 and 4by400- Qualified at the Pittsburg State meet
Rico DeBoest 4by4- Qualified at the University of Kansas meet
Eric Jordan 4by4- Qualified at the University of Kansas meet
Russell Mitchell 60h- Qualified at the Missouri Southern meet
Josauni Swisher 60 meters- Qualified at the University of Kansas meet
Brandon Hunt 4by400- Qualified at the University of Kansas meet
The FSCC Track Team is just getting started in their season and are doing great; on the track and in the classroom!
Fort Scott Police Department Officer Derick Burke. File photo.
Violence in America is a threat, and the Fort Scott Police Department is scheduling a training session to help local entities deal with the possible threat.
“The FSPD will be hosting this training with certified trainers from ALICE coming to Ellis Fine Arts Center to do the training for us,” FS Police Officer Derick Burke said.
“Our local businesses, churches, schools, and hospitals are often where there is a larger gathering,” Burke said. “Most recently we have been seeing more and more churches being the target. In the past, it had been seen more in schools. This training is being offered so people in our community can take what they learned from certified ALICE trainers back to their church, business, school, and be able to hold their own training. Job turnover is always a possibility and when a new employee is hired, you shouldn’t have to call around to schedule a training with someone else, simply put the person you had trained by a certified ALICE trainer to good use and keep the drive for workplace safety alive.”
“ALICE is an acronym for a systematic approach to combat an active shooter or violent intruder situation by using proactive response strategies,” Burke said. “This type of training is set up for all ages, young and old, male or female.”
ALICE stands for:
Alert- Notification and recognition of the possibility of danger.
Lockdown- If evacuation is not the safe option, barricade entry points and prepare for evacuation or the possibility to counter the threat.
Inform- Communicate on the shooter location with clear and concise information by any means possible.
Counter- If evacuation is not possible, counter with noise, movement, distraction and distance, making it more difficult for the shooter to shoot accurately.
Evacuate- When it is possible to evacuate, run from the danger and exit quickly.
“The training is open to anyone willing and wanting to learn, and then take what they learned, and teach it to others,” Burke said. “Age, gender, strength, size….does not matter. This training is tailored to fit anyone. ”
Registering for this class by visiting the website www.alicetraining.com, look for the dates, June 16- June 17, 2020.
The training will take place from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m, in Fort Scott at the Ellis Arts Center on the Campus of Fort Scott Community College, 2401 S. Horton.
The cost is $595.00 for early bird registration, $695.00 for anyone after the first 10 registrants.
Topeka, Kan. – Companies can now register to attend the 5th Annual KANSASWORKS Statewide Job Fair.
The job fair takes place from 3-6 p.m. on April 2, 2020, at 11 different locations across the state.
This event is a unique opportunity for companies across Kansas to meet with prospective employees. The Statewide Job Fair provides employers and job seekers a chance to meet face-to-face to network and connect in a location convenient for everyone.
“This is about connecting people who need jobs with companies that need talented workers,” Secretary of Commerce David Toland said, “and it’s about our commitment to bolstering employment all across Kansas. By providing locations across the state, we’re working to make sure that businesses and jobseekers can participate, regardless of which part of the state they’re in.”
Locations for the 2020 Statewide Fair will include:
by Adelay Martin, UHS Student Sports Media Reporter
The Uniontown Eagles faced the Southeast Lancers on February 7. The Varsity boys won their game, but the girls were unfortunately defeated.
The girls lost to the Lancers 58 to 70 tonight. Danielle Howard had 20 points and 8 steals. Karleigh Schoenberger had 16 points and 4 rebounds. Sammie Hampton scored 10 points, and also had 6 rebounds and 2 steals. Lauren Shinn Had 2 assists and 3 rebounds. “This game was definitely a tale of two halves,” said Coach Miller. “We played well in the first half. Our shot selection and defense looked to be on track to secure a win. We went to halftime with a 17 point lead. Unfortunately, in the second half, our decision making was poor and Southeast proved to have the resolve necessary to overcome the deficit and get the win. This one stung, but we will not dwell on it. It is a privilege to coach these young ladies and I know we will hit the hardwood on Monday and get prepared to play at Yates Center on Tuesday.”
The boys Varsity beat the Lancers 67 to 54. Overall, they out-rebounded the Lancers by 13 rebounds. Jake Harvey and Luke George lead in points, scoring 24 and 23, respectively; both also had 13 rebounds and 3 assists. Hunter Schaaf scored 12 points and Drew Perry had 4 assists. Coach Hays said, “Anytime a team can shoot 40% from the field, they have a good chance to be successful. I thought in the second half we made a lot of winning plays, whether diving for loose balls or making the extra pass. If we keep doing those things and playing solid defense, we could continue this stretch of success.”
by Adelay Martin, UHS Student Sports Media Reporter
The Uniontown Eagles faced the Chetopa Hornets on Tuesday, February 4. Both Varsity teams won, as did the boys JV. The girls JV played hard, but were unfortunately bested by the Hornets.
The girls Varsity won their game with a score of 54 to 35. Danielle Howard scored 20 points during the game; she also had 5 rebounds, 4 assists, and 5 steals. Karleigh Schoenberger scored 14 points and had 2 assists and 3 steals. Sammie Hampton scored 8 points and Sivanah McAnulty scored 4. Gwenyth Fry had 5 rebounds. “Our defense was a little shaky in the beginning, but the girls adjusted and held Chetopa to 20 points in the last 3 quarters of the game,” Coach Miller said. “Looking forward to practicing tomorrow where we will continue to improve our individual and team game. Our next home competition will be this Friday against Southeast.”
The boys Varsity beat the Hornets 59 to 23. Jake Harvey once more lead in points, scoring 21 in total. He also had 6 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals. Luke George scored 15 points, and also had 10 rebounds and 2 assists. Korbin Miller had 6 rebounds and scored 9 points. There was very balanced scoring among the team, with Drew Perry, Cade Goodridge, Drew Holt, and Hunter Schaaf contributing to the score. Perry and Schaaf also had 2 rebounds each, and Ian McClure had 2 steals. Coach Hays said, “I thought the boys played hard and shared the ball extremely well tonight. It’s exciting playing well in front of your home crowd. I’m excited about the direction of this team and basketball program as a whole.”
Members of the USD 234 Board of Education met on Monday, February 10, at the Board of Education office for their regular monthly meeting.
President David Stewart opened the meeting. The board approved the official agenda. The board also approved the consent agenda as follows:
Minutes
Bills and Claims
Payroll – January 17, 2020 – $1,371,497.09
Financial Report
Bond Proceeds Reconciliation
Activity Fund Accounts
Fundraising Project – HS Debate and Forensics
Stephanie George, KNEA President, presented a report. Administrators from each building shared information with board members.
Superintendent Ted Hessong reported on BOLD training, Recruit and Hire, PSU Teacher Interview Day on February 19, Stop School Violence grant, accreditation visit, and Crisis Go.
Gina Shelton, Business Manager, discussed health insurance, the health stipend, the KSDE audit, and the roof project that will begin at middle school.
Board members approved the following items:
Allowance of proposals for refinancing of the bond
Roof payment
Resolution to establish election of school board officers
Board members shared comments and then went into executive session to discuss personnel matters for nonelected personnel and returned to open meeting. The board approved the following employment matters:
Retirement of Beverly Cummins, Eugene Ware paraprofessional, effective May 18, 2020
Resignation of Shawn LaSota, high school English teacher, effective at the end of the 2019-20 school year
Resignation of Brooke LaSota, Eugene Ware paraprofessional, effective at the end of the 2019-20 school year
Transfer of Andrea Heckman, preschool long-term substitute teacher, to a licensed teacher at New Generation for the remainder of the 2019-20 school year
Leave of absence request from Billie Young, high school kitchen manager
Transfer of Cheryl Marsh, high school ticket clerk, to interim high school kitchen manager and transfer of Brenda Hathaway, high school cook, to high school interim ticket clerk for the remainder of the 2019-20 school year
Adjustment in the work agreement for Moriah Dillow, Winfield Scott paraprofessional, from a 6-hour day to a 7.5-hour day for the remainder of the 2019-20 school year
Addition of the following positions for the 2020-21 school year:
High School Family and Consumer Science Teacher
Middle School 7th and 8th grade English/Language Arts/Social Studies Teacher
